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Mr. and Mr. Sulu go to Capitol Hill as LA gay and lesbian activists lobby for Social Security equality bill

Kitty Felde

Actor George Takei (L), known for his role in the science fiction TV series Star Trek, and his husband Brad Altman posed for media. The two join dozens of other protesters at Capitol Hill as they rallied for equal Social Security benefits. David McNew/Getty Images

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Gay and lesbian activists from Los Angeles took a trip to Capitol Hill on Thursday. They're lobbying for a bill that would give same-sex married couples the same social security survivor benefits as heterosexual married couples, but it has little chance of passing the Republican-led House of Representatives.

Under current law, if the higher-earning member of a heterosexual married couple dies first, their social security benefits are passed on to the person left behind.

That’s not the case for same sex couples, a situation that Democratic Congresswoman Linda Sanchez has introduced a bill to change.